National 5 Practical Woodwork

National 4 and 5 Practical Woodworking

Course Description

The Course provides opportunities for learners to gain a range of practical woodworking skills and to use a variety of tools, equipment and materials. It allows them to plan activities through to the completion of a finished product in wood.

The aims of the Course are to enable learners to develop: 

• skills in woodworking techniques
• skills in measuring and marking out timber sections and sheet materials
• safe working practices in workshop environments
• practical creativity and problem-solving skills
• an understanding of sustainability issues in a practical woodworking context

Course Structure

The Practical Woodworking course consists of 3 units;

Practical Woodworking: Flat-frame Construction 

Learners develop skills in making woodworking joints and assemblies commonly used in flat-frame joinery.

Practical Woodworking: Carcase Construction 

Learners develop skills in making woodworking joints and assemblies commonly used in carcase construction. Tasks will involve some complex features and may include working with manufactured board or with frames and panels.

Practical Woodworking: Machining and Finishing

Learners develop skills in using common machine and power tools. They develop skills in a variety of woodworking surface preparations and finishing techniques.

Course Assessment

To gain a National 4 award, learners must pass all of the three mandatory unit models as well as complete the final Practical Activity.

At National 4 level, the Practical Activity will be used to determine a “pass” or “fail”. 

At National 5 level, the course assessment is graded A–D with a learner’s overall grade determined by their performance in both the Practical Activity and the Question Paper.